Upon hearing Yao shi's questions, the crowd also swiftly sent curious gazes over.

They had heard Song shi's earlier words as well. Not only did he want to cripple Zhang Xuan's manhood, he even wanted to kill the Golden Origin Cauldron and have Zhang Xuan issue a public apology to him.

Considering that the tables had turned, they could not help but want to know how Zhang Xuan would deal with this situation.

Given how callous Song shi had been previously, any punishment that Zhang Xuan enforced on him would not be considered overboard.

At the same time, Song shi also tightened his fists as he nervously awaited Zhang Xuan's verdict.

The losing party of the Master Teacher Confrontation had to comply with whatever request the victor demanded. This was the rule established by the Master Teacher Pavilion.

Zhang Xuan waved his hand and said, "Song shi attempted to kill Sun Qiang, Elder Xu, and the other meritorious subjects, but that was due to the compelling situation forcing him to do so. While I disagree with his actions, I can understand his rationale for doing so. Other than that, I do not have a personal grudge with him either.. and if we look to the heart of the issue, my artifact was indeed at fault for going too far and injuring him. Thus, I won't enforce any punishment on him."

In a sense, the assault from the Golden Origin Cauldron was already a sufficient for punishment against Song shi. At this point, he was not interested in pursuing the matter any further. That would only make him appear narrow-minded and unforgiving.

"As expected of Zhang shi, magnanimous and gracious!"

"Indeed! They are both master teachers from the Master Teacher Pavilion, so why is there such a huge disparity in their characters?"

"Huge disparity? More like they aren't even on the same level!"

"From today onward, Zhang shi will be my idol! Anyone who wants to get to him must go through me!"

"Hey, Zhang shi doesn't belong to you alone! He's my idol too."

Hearing Zhang Xuan's words, a wave of admiration rippled through the crowd.

Even Yao shi could not help but nod in approval.

It was no wonder Zhang Xuan was able to rise to such heights at his young age. Putting aside his talent, what was more important was his heart.

"Despite Zhang shi's magnanimity, there's no doubt that Song shi has failed to carry out his mission as an envoy from the headquarters properly. He passed judgement upon Sun Qiang and the other poison masters without investigating the issue properly, nearly inflicting grievous injustice upon meritorious subjects," Yao shi said. "No matter what, he still has to take responsibility for his actions. I'll report this matter to the headquarters and have them make a judgement."

Zhang Xuan sparing Song shi of his punishment was only a result of his victory from the Master Teacher Confrontation. Putting that aside, there was still no doubt that Song shi had committed a huge oversight in the handling of this incident, so he still had to be punished for his lapse in responsibility.

This was the rule of the Master Teacher Pavilion, so it had to be upheld.

"Thank you, Zhang shi. Thank you, Yao shi." Hearing the judgement, Song shi heaved a sigh of relief. He could not help but glance at Zhang Xuan with complex emotions in his eyes.

Previously, when the young man crippled him with his artifact, he had been so angry that he could have murdered the other party. But now.. seeing how the young man's every action was dedicated to fulfilling his responsibility as a master teacher, not forgetting his role regardless of the situation, he could not help but feel deep respect for the other party.

Perhaps, that was how a real master teacher should act.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony." Seeing that the matter was finally resolved, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief on the inside.

Raising his gaze toward the sky once more, he raised his finger toward the many characters and tapped lightly.

Hong long!

The first character abruptly burst apart, and concentrated spiritual energy diffused into the surroundings, shrouding the entire Qingyuan City.

In the blink of an eye, every lifeform in Qingyuan City heard a word resounding in the depths of their souls. A single word it might have been, but the rich intent infused into it left them falling into a trance.

Pah pah pah pah!

The characters popped one after another, and more and more words sounded.

"In the Way of Cultivation, the body as the world, and the spirit as Yin-Yang.." 1

Hearing those words, Yao shi and Song shi could not help but fall into a daze.

From the moment they saw those characters, they knew that the knowledge they harnessed would be anything but ordinary. However, it was only when they heard it with their own ears that they realized just how profound it truly was.

Compared to the content in those characters, the cultivation techniques that they cultivated were truly inefficient and slow, as if a crawling snail. Hardly worth a mention!

Suppressing her urge to cultivation, Yao shi's eyes widened in bewilderment. "Zhang shi is converting the characters of the Heavenly Impartation of Mentor's Calligraphy back to Impartation of Heaven's Will!"

Taking a look at the square beneath her feet, all of the cultivators in her sight had already sat down cross-legged on the ground, driving their zhenqi according to the method depicted through those words.

Pilipala!

Not too long later, as if an endless firecracker had been lit, the crisp echoes symbolizing breakthroughs in cultivation sounded amid the crowd.

This is..

It was understandable that a cultivation technique as profound as the one lectured by Zhang Xuan would cause the cultivators to swiftly achieve breakthroughs.. but beyond the crowd, a group of wild chickens, flying birds, and many other animals were also swiftly growing stronger, and they were beginning to make breakthroughs as well.

Am I really not dreaming?

Astonished, Yao shi extended her Spiritual Perception to scan the area, and she swiftly saw countless donkeys, horses, geese, chicks.. and as if they had all started cultivating as well, their auras swiftly surged along with Zhang Xuan's words.

It isn't just those flying birds, even the domesticated animals are achieving breakthroughs as well!

Shocked beyond words, she was just about to retract her Spiritual Perception when another sight she saw nearly caused her knees to cave in from sheer astonishment.

Hmm? Weren't those metal pipes bent earlier? Why did they suddenly straighten themselves?

The bent metal pipes just a little in front of the execution platform had, at some point in time, become incredibly straight, as if valiant soldiers standing at attention, exuding a heroic aura.

To actually be able to talk a metal pipe into becoming erect..

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Yao shi took another glance at Zhang Xuan, and she felt as if she was going insane.

This had already far exceeded the ability of a normal Impartation of Heaven's Will!

It's Heart of a Teacher, Yao shi thought as her eyes lit up in excitement.

Only those who possessed the Heart of a Teacher would wield such capabilities!

Who would have thought that the young man before her had actually comprehended this at such a young age?

It was no wonder he would unreservedly gift those valuable characters to the crowd and consider the welfare of the Master Teacher Pavilion and mankind in everything he did.

A thought emerged in Yao shi's mind.

If I could accept such a formidable genius as my student..

There was no denying Zhang Xuan's outstanding talent, but his potential was limited by his environment. The Qingyuan Empire, ranked last among the Conferred Empires, was simply too backward, and it was not big enough for him to fully spread his wings.

If she could accept him as her student, bring him to the Empire Alliance Master Teacher Pavilion, and accord him the best resources there, he would be able to avoid many detours in his cultivation and improve swiftly.

When he finally displayed his brilliance, as his teacher, her reputation would also spread far and wide.

I should ask him later.

Glancing at the slowly disappearing characters in the sky and the countless cultivators achieving a breakthrough around her, Yao shi suppressed her urge for the moment and waited patiently for the Impartation of Heaven's Will to come to an end.

..

At the same time, in a smithy located at the suburbs of Qingyuan City..

In a compact room, an old metalsmith was forging a metal ingot beneath his hammer.

An elder walked up to the old metalsmith and smiled. "Old Zhou, I am still lacking eighteen metal pots. You must complete them for me by today!"

The old metalsmith was neither a blacksmith nor a celestial designer—he was just an ordinary metalsmith who forged basic necessities for a living.

"There's no need to rush me, don't you have any confidence in me? I'll surely finish your order by today!" the metalsmith replied with a smile.

Like magic, just with a few strikes from the hammer in his hands, the metal ingot swiftly assumed the shape of a pot.

" I have known you for several decades now—of course I have confidence in you!" the elder said.

With several decades of fellowship, they had long become close friends with one another.

The pots, spoons, and other necessities forged by the old metalsmith were exceptionally exquisite and elegant. Whenever he placed the products of the old metalsmith on display, they would be swiftly sold out. Even the nobles of the country had placed orders for the old metalsmith's works with him, offering to pay a premium on them. It was for this reason that he would always frequent the smithy of the old metalsmith and acquire his goods.

The metalsmith gestured to the chair by the side as he said, "Yes, wait there for me. I should be done soon, so let's have a cup of tea together later on.."

However, something happened at this moment that caused the metalsmith's hammer to freeze in place.

Ding ding dang dang!

The various pots and bowls he had hung on the walls suddenly began moving by themselves despite the absence of wind. They delightfully leaped to the ground before marching out of the smithy in a neat line.

"This.." Unable to believe his eyes, the old metalsmith rubbed his eyes.

Those pots and bowls were just ordinary goods, possessing no spirit at all. Why would they suddenly flee by themselves?

Watching as a bunch of spoons make their way out of the room, the elder who had been speaking to the old metalsmith a moment ago was also dumbstruck. He quickly rushed up to the metalsmith and asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know either.." The metalsmith stared at the fantastical sight before him in a daze.

Slowly, his dazed expression twisted into one of horror.

Those were the goods that he had hammered with great effort! If they ran away, wouldn't his effort all have been in vain?

Thus, he swiftly dashed to the door to block the marching of the various metalworks, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a sharp ache in his palm, which caused his clenched hand to open. The metal hammer he was holding made use of this opportunity to leap to the ground and dash out of the room.

"Don't run!"

That hammer had been with him for several decades now, and he depended on it for a living. The old metalsmith immediately gave chase, but the following moment, the metal door to the smithy abruptly smashed into his head, knocking him back.

Before he could even process what was going on, the entire house began shaking intensely before furiously running after the metal hammer.

"Even my house is running away?" The metalsmith was crazed.

It was one thing for his pots and bowls to run away, but for his house to escape as well.. Where was he going to live from now on? Where was he going to smith his goods in the future?

Panicked, the old metalsmith turned to his old friend and pleaded, "Old Liang, don't you have an aerial spirit beast? Help me check what's going on! I can't lose my wares and house just like that!"

"Alright!" The elder who had been speaking to him earlier nodded.

With a loud whistle, an aerial spirit beast immediately flew to the ground. The elder stepped on the back of the aerial spirit beast and flew into the distance.

Not long later, the elder returned with a pale face, as if he had just seen something supernatural happening before him.

"What's wrong, Old Liang? Is this the work of some kind of burglar?" the old metalsmith asked anxiously.

He had heard rumors about formidable burglars being able to steal items even from a distance away.

Could one of these burglars have cast some kind of sorcery over his possessions, causing them to run out of his control and flee?

"It's not the doing of a burglar but.."

The elder swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but his voice still sounded extremely hoarse.

".. Zhang shi is conducting a lecture!"